I’ve been getting asked a lot lately how I got into running, since it sucks. Usually I am asked by people looking to shed some weight, or just become a little more athletic. I wish I had a simple answer, and the answer that worked for me might not be the same answer that works for everyone else. But there is one thing that I have learned in the war against my body.
The only constant that has been in my life, since day one, is my shitty brain that keeps telling me that I can’t do it. So if I really want to change myself, I should start on the inside, and not the outside. I have done every diet on the earth. I have tried the exercise route numerous times. I lost weight so often, but never changed how I thought, so after I lost the weight, the old me would resurface and I’d put it back on. Pizza is just too alluring for a person who hopes science will fix his problem.
I had to look at myself and basically admit that my body was completely MY fault. I had a million excuses too. I had little to no time. The weather was shitty. Both of my knees have torn cartilage. I have scoliosis. My mother wasn’t there for me. There is a two inch difference in the lengths of my legs. I masterbate far too often. But what wasn’t getting me off the couch? ME. I was literally telling myself ALL THE TIME “I’ll try to start tomorrow.” Try to START? TRY? I was doomed to fail just by saying that sentence.
That morning I got up and ran half a mile. I turned around very upset. The next day, I thought about the run and realized that I gave up because I got tired, but I knew that I could have gone farther. So the next day I did. I went about ¾ of a mile. But this time I walked for a bit until I could run some more. Then I went home. I kept doing this until I stopped getting mad at myself for giving up, because I stopped giving up. I stopped letting the excuses stop me from trying. The only thing that would stop me was being unable to run.
So I don’t have a really great answer. All I know is you aren’t going to find it in a magic pill. You aren’t going to find it by taking out carbs from your diet. You def aren’t going to find it by eating nothing but grapefruit. The answer is really in your head, and you have to dig it out. You have to make a decision to become the person you want to become and MAKE that happen.
And you STILL might fail. But at least you tried.
The only constant that has been in my life, since day one, is my shitty brain that keeps telling me that I can’t do it. So if I really want to change myself, I should start on the inside, and not the outside. I have done every diet on the earth. I have tried the exercise route numerous times. I lost weight so often, but never changed how I thought, so after I lost the weight, the old me would resurface and I’d put it back on. Pizza is just too alluring for a person who hopes science will fix his problem.
I had to look at myself and basically admit that my body was completely MY fault. I had a million excuses too. I had little to no time. The weather was shitty. Both of my knees have torn cartilage. I have scoliosis. My mother wasn’t there for me. There is a two inch difference in the lengths of my legs. I masterbate far too often. But what wasn’t getting me off the couch? ME. I was literally telling myself ALL THE TIME “I’ll try to start tomorrow.” Try to START? TRY? I was doomed to fail just by saying that sentence.
That morning I got up and ran half a mile. I turned around very upset. The next day, I thought about the run and realized that I gave up because I got tired, but I knew that I could have gone farther. So the next day I did. I went about ¾ of a mile. But this time I walked for a bit until I could run some more. Then I went home. I kept doing this until I stopped getting mad at myself for giving up, because I stopped giving up. I stopped letting the excuses stop me from trying. The only thing that would stop me was being unable to run.
So I don’t have a really great answer. All I know is you aren’t going to find it in a magic pill. You aren’t going to find it by taking out carbs from your diet. You def aren’t going to find it by eating nothing but grapefruit. The answer is really in your head, and you have to dig it out. You have to make a decision to become the person you want to become and MAKE that happen.
And you STILL might fail. But at least you tried.
